Healing Line

Healing Line

Courage

by Judith MacNutt
2018 Vol. 03

We all need courage. When the Holy Spirit comes into your life, He will ask things of you that will make you totally uncomfortable. If you are not uncomfortable, it might mean you’re in trouble, because you might be trying to do life in your own strength.

The dictionary’s definition of a hero is: “A person who is admired for great or brave acts, or nobility of character.”

When I think of a person of distinguished courage, admired for brave deeds and noble qualities, I think of Jesus. Jesus is our model for courage. Jesus was fully human and fully divine — that’s the miracle of the incarnation.

You are fully human with the divine in you! You have the presence of the Holy Spirit; it is Jesus within you who gives you His courage.

Jesus will ask you to pray for someone and everything in you might be responding, “I can’t do that,” but you will lay hands on that person. He will ask you to speak a word, and you might be thinking, “Lord, I don’t know what to say.” But then you do speak. This takes courage! What the Lord is trying to do with you is stretch you, enlarge you, heal you, transform you, and let you experience new truth so you can walk into a new freedom in Christ.

We can have courage in the midst of difficult times, because God is in our suffering. Sin and sickness are always going to be present because we live in a fallen world. God uses suffering, but He doesn’t send suffering to teach us a lesson. This truth is very important to remember.

In times of suffering the Holy Spirit is incredibly active. He gives us courage, love, faith and community. When we feel we can’t handle any more, the community of the faithful goes through difficulties with us.

There are three important things to remember about suffering:

  1. You are not alone! God did not send this to you. There is hope — there is an end to it! I always say to myself, “This too shall pass; even if I go to heaven, it’s going to pass!” When the disciples were overwhelmed with sorrow, Jesus said to them, Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1–3) That is one of the greatest promises in scripture.

  2. Then He goes on to say, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16)
    It is very important to understand that the person of the Holy Spirit is your friend. He cares very deeply about you. He’s in this journey with you. Jesus said, Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7) When He returned to the Father, He told the apostles and disciples to wait for the coming of the Spirit, and they did. They waited, and then came the rush of mighty wind, and tongues of fire settled on every one of them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit of the living God.

  3. Likewise, when God tells me to wait, I wait. When we are guided by our own strength, or ministering out of our own strength, we get into trouble. Waiting takes courage! Daily invite the Holy Spirit to totally fill you, guide you, and lead you into all truth. He will bring deep healing and transformation. He will bring comfort in suffering. He will bring power for ministry and courage for spiritual battle.

Judith MacNutt Judith MacNutt is author, teacher, conference speaker and co–founder of CHM. 2018 Vol. 03